tiny cut won't stop bleeding (11 m.o)

[WindyCityMom]

Question- when should I be concerned?

DD1 dropped a picture frame today and the glass broke all over.  I must have missed a teeny tiny piece because dd2 cut her leg.  It's tiny (2-3mm) but won't quit bleeding.  It has been slowly bleeding for about 10 minutes.  blood keeps oozing up.  I tried applying pressure but it doesn't do anything.

When I was pregnant with DD1 I had elevated bleeding time tests but no one knew why (they basically cut you and let you bleed, took my blood 14 minutes to clot, I believe).

How long should I let this go on?

[tanyalynn]

I'm having formatting issues, going to hit Submit  and then try to Edit.  Sorry.  :-S

What sort of testing did you get done for your elevated bleeding times? 

If your DD's bleeding isn't in a place that's easily irritated (rubbed, stretched when she moves), then 10 mins seems like longer than normal.   If it's in a place that's moved/rubbed, then I don't know how long it should be--I've had trouble, a few times, getting the kids to stay still.

How's it doing now, did it finally stop bleeding?  (given the time lag from your post to my response) ...

If it were only a small amount of blood, I'd consider waiting til morning to go to a doctor, but then I'd probably want to figure out what's going on and come up with a game plan for future injuries. 

[WindyCityMom]

Hi :) Well, it took a little over a half an hour to finally clot.  

When I had the elevated bleeding time, they did a bleeding time test (three actually, different days) where they have a small blade that they cut you with (arm) and blot it every 10 seconds or so.  It took me the length of their time limit to stop bleeding.  I was still slightly bleeding afterwards IIRC but it's been so long.  

They sent me to a hematologist (sp?) and everything checked out okay, and he couldn't figure it out.  

[WindyCityMom]

And DDs cut was on her shin, almost exactly midway between her knee and her ankle.

[KimPM]

Could be a borderline bleeding disorder in you...sometimes the bloodwork will come up normal, and other times it will show you have the bleeding disorder.  Some bleeding disorders are hereditary.  Sounds like your DD has it possibly worse than you.  I'd take her to a pediatric hematologist to check it out.  30 minutes is too long.  (The other possibility is if you didn't get all the glass out of there...it's possible a piece of glass was still in there irritating it. )

There are bleeding disorders other than the one I have, but here is my story.  I was diagnosed with von Willebrand's at age 35, when I had to have my thyroid out.  The surgeon met with me to discuss the operation and she sent me to a hematologist because I told her of some occasional mild (and random) bleeding issues.  Thank goodness she sent me there.  And it took the hematologist a couple of rounds of testing to get the abnormal result, as the first round of testing showed normal.  Turns out von Willebrand's is modulated by hormones, so it depends on what part of the menstrual cycle you are in whether it is worse or better.  So if you have a mild case, it's easy to be missed by a single round of tests.  I'm glad I know about it, because there's an antidiuretic that has the side effect of gathering all the von Willebrand factor stored in the weird places and dumping it into circulation.  For me, it works immediately.  This medication also comes in a nasal spray that I can keep at home in case of emergency.  This medication is what they can give you before surgery, during childbirth (while pushing), or when having a bleeding episode that isn't letting up.  I'm glad I know about the bleeding disorder.  I can also schedule any non-emergency surgery for better times during my cycle.  I also have to avoid supplements or foods that might thin the blood or increase bleeding times.

[WindyCityMom]

Thanks for the info!  When I was going through the ordeal, I was convinced it was von Willebrand's, and the med student working with my hematolagist thought so also.  I did go on to have a normal vaginal birth, but had no issues with bleeding after birth.  I also had a c/s the second time around (lonnng story) but I had no issues with bleeding.

I do bruise very easily, but I don't get cuts enough to tell whether or not I have excessive bleeding or not.

My DD has never been cut before, so this was my first experience with it.  She's also unvaxed so I've never seen her bleed from that type of thing, but when my oldest was vaccinated, she did seem to bleed a bit more than average.  

Wait a minute- I'm in a rush so no time to go back and edit- but just remembered- dd did go in for a lead test finger prick and blood draw from her vein- the finger prick did take a little while to clot (also took awhile to start bleeding, but once it did it took awhile to stop) and I remember taking her bandaid off of her arm later (from the vein draw) and I remember there being a lot more blood than I'd imagined on it.

I'm going to talk to her doctor about it- she goes in on her birthday but I'm going to check in earlier (probably Wednesday) because she's also got an ear infection that I'd like to know whether or not it's resolving.